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"  Everything fell into place over a lunchtime glass of champagne at legendary architect Norman Foster&amp;#039;s Saint Moritz home. When Angela Westwater saw Foster pick up a pen and begin sketching, the New York gallerist knew that she and her business partner, Gian Enzo Sperone, had done the unthinkable: They had convinced Foster \u2014 best known for breathtakingly large works like the Reichstag Building, the Beijing airport, and the Hearst Tower in New York \u2014 to tackle their new gallery, on a toothpick-thin plot located on the Bowery near Houston Street.  &amp;quot;I was thrilled,&amp;quot; says Westwater. &amp;quot;I could see that the process had started for him.&amp;quot;  It all began for Westwater months before, when Sperone called her from the street to announce that he had found their new home, then a dilapidated restaurant-supply shop. They had outgrown their current gallery in the meatpacking district and were looking for an alternative to the rectangular, horizontal boxes of Chelsea. &amp;quot;We were thinking of something more flexible and hoped for a real intimacy with the artwork, which frankly sometimes these bigger spaces don&amp;#039;t permit,&amp;quot; says Westwater, a lean blonde who cuts a chic swath through the art world.  She&amp;#039;s known as much for her roster of artists, a prestigious list including Bruce Nauman, Julian Schnabel, Laurie Simmons, Tom Sachs, and Richard Long, as for her minimalist style. Westwater favors Alexander McQueen and Calvin Klein. (Designer Francisco Costa is a close friend and weekend neighbor in Bellport, New York.)  &amp;quot;Angela has great taste and style,&amp;quot; says Costa, &amp;quot;and a great eye for anything related to art as well as architecture.&amp;quot;  Anyone lucky enough to attend the parties she throws with her husband, David Meitus, knows that well. While their guest lists would make a gossip columnist drool \u2014 one is as likely to bump into Daphne Guinness as Desir\u00E9e Rogers \u2014 the walls are decked with canvases by Andy Warhol, Francis Picabia, and Schnabel and sculptures by Nauman and Jean Arp.  It was the promise of an equally intimate experience with the work that attracted Westwater to the idea of a vertically built gallery. As for the neighborhood, its still-rough-around-the-edges terrain spoke to them: Stores selling lighting and restaurant equipment coexist with hot spots like the Bowery Hotel, the New Museum, and Pulino&amp;#039;s, the pizza restaurant from Keith McNally (also a friend). &amp;quot;There is a great legacy in terms of creativity over the years,&amp;quot; she says, remembering how as a young gallery girl she would pick her way among the Bowery bums to visit artists like Roy Lichtenstein.  Though the partners initially wanted to salvage the existing structure, it soon became obvious that it was not possible, so the race to find an architect began. They polled their artists, and Foster&amp;#039;s was a name that kept topping the wish lists. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s just a mutual respect there,&amp;quot; Westwater explains.  Fortunately, Westwater and Meitus had befriended Foster and his energetic wife, Elena Ochoa Foster, through their work for the Tate museum&amp;#039;s International Council, of which Elena is a chairman and Meitus is a member. (Elena also produced an acclaimed documentary on her husband, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?) It was their penchant for cigarette breaks during Tate meetings that bonded them. &amp;quot;Elena and David are always out smoking and having nonstop conversation,&amp;quot; chuckles Westwater.  Foster agreed, and the result is art-gallery history. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re introducing a totally new kind of gallery architecture,&amp;quot; Westwater says.  A visit to the tiny 25-by-100-foot site proves her point. If anything, the confines of the space seem to have inspired greater creativity from the master architect. &amp;quot;From the beginning, we were fighting for every square inch of gallery space,&amp;quot; says Michael Wurzel, the head of Foster + Partners&amp;#039; New York office.  Foster&amp;#039;s biggest innovation is perhaps the so-called moving room \u2014 in laymen&amp;#039;s terms, a giant elevator-cum-exhibition space \u2014 which can rise slowly between the second-floor gallery and the three above. Meanwhile, the exterior walls of the moving room, painted bright red, will be seen through the glass facade of the eight-story building, creating an instant landmark. (Interiors will all be de rigueur white.) Visitors enter a two-story gallery where an elegantly curved mezzanine hovers overhead. One floor up, there is a peaceful outdoor sculpture terrace overlooking the trees of Chrystie Street, while staff offices get a balcony with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline. &amp;quot;At the very least, we can come out and have a coffee,&amp;quot; Westwater says with a laugh. She is certainly not worried about their Louboutin-heeled clients making the trek downtown. &amp;quot;I think they will find us,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;Some of these Upper East Siders like this better because it&amp;#039;s not across town. It&amp;#039;s easy.&amp;quot;  Their artists are also thrilled with the results. &amp;quot;We all go [to Chelsea] because we have to, not because we want to,&amp;quot; says artist Guillermo Kuitca, whose solo show will inaugurate the gallery this month. He sees the architectural dramatics of the new building as nothing but a boon. &amp;quot;Art takes us to another place, but when that can physically happen, it&amp;#039;s even better. It matches your intention as an artist.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a558/sperone-westwater-gallery-angela-westwater-0910/>